The Olympic Gold Rush at Kasumigaseki Country Club is coming down to the wire and with just 18 holes to go, it’s Xander Schauffele in front by a shot over the home nation’s hero — Hideki Matsuyama.
Schauffele and Matsuyama were tied at 13-under standing on the 18th tee Saturday. Xander hit a perfect drive then stuck a nine-iron within two feet of the hole. Although Hideki made a great two-putt from the far left fringe, Schauffele’s birdie was good for a 68 and a 14-under par score that has him on the doorstep of a Gold Medal.
But they don’t hand out medals after 54-holes.
Matsuyama’s 67 put him in the final group with Schauffele and joining them will be England’s Paul Casey, whose 66 put him in position to succeed countryman Justin Rose for the Gold Medal. Casey posted ahead of Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz. Ortiz shot 69 to get to 12-under.
Things are really stacked up, there are at least 20 players capable of playing their way to a medal on Sunday.
Here’s how they’re lined up with 18 to go:
14-Under 199 (68-63-68):
Xander Schauffele: Didn’t have his best stuff on Saturday but that closing birdie had to boost his spirits. A lot of work left as there are too many quality players behind him. It may take 18-under par or better to wear the Gold for the USA on Sunday.
13-Under 200 (69-64-67):
Hideki Matsuyama: He’s carrying the hopes of the entire home nation on his shoulders and he’s proving the pressure is not too great for the Masters champion. You might think that between him and Schauffele, one if not both will play well over the final 18 holes.
12-Under 201:
Paul Casey (67-68-66): If he can hole the putts, he can win the Gold.
Carlos Ortiz (65-67-69): The least experienced of the top four but perhaps the most spirited.
11-Under 202:
Rory McIlroy (69-66-67): The Olympic bug has bitten Rory. He’s using a different putter this week, an Anser-style blade and he’s right there. Rory can win Gold if he shoots 64 or better on Sunday.
Sebastian Munoz (67-69-66): Good round on Saturday, can he follow it up with a better one on Sunday?
Mito Pereira (69-65-68): Biggest surprise contender. How will he handle the pressure?
Sepp Straka (63-71-68): Good but is he good enough to medal?
10-Under 203:
Tommy Fleetwood (70-69-64): Tommy made nine, yes nine birdies on Saturday and shot 64. If he can make nine on Sunday, eliminate the bogeys, he could be wearing Gold.
Shame Lowry (70-65-68): Like Fleetwood, will need an extraordinary round on Sunday to make it to the medal stand.
It’s a pretty good bet that three of those top 10 are going to play well enough to take one of the three medals available.
That being said, here are some players farther back who could go low and have a chance:
Abraham Ancer, Cameron Smith and Guido Migliozzi are all at nine-under.
Joaquin Niemann, Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry are all at eight-under.
Biggest name at seven-under and a man who is capable of shooting 62 on Sunday — Collin Morikawa.
So hang on, Sunday’s going to be a wild ride for the medals.
Sunday Starting Times (all EDT time), Final Round Telecast on Golf Channel:
6:30 p.m.: Rafael Campos, Gavin Kyle Green, Ondrej Lieser
6:41 p.m.: Juvic Pagnunsan, Ryan Fox, Udayan Mane
6:52 p.m.: Gunn Charoenkul, Kalle Samooja, Jorge Campillo
7:03 p.m.: Henrik Norlander, Marc Leishman, Kristian K. Johannessen
7:14 p.m.: Rikuya Hoshino, Garrick Higgo, Adrian Meronk
7:25 p.m.: Antoine Rozner, Ashun Wu, Adri Arnaus
7:41 p.m.: Justin Thomas, Maximilian Kieffer, Hurly Long
7:52 p.m.: Viktor Hovland, Si Woo Kim, Patrick Reed
8:03 p.m.: Romain Langasque, Matthis Schwab, Renato Paratore
8:14 p.m.: Jazz Janewattananond, Fabrizio Zanotti, Sami Valimaki
8:25 p.m.: Anirban Lahiri, Yechun Yuan, Rasmus Hojgaard
8:36 p.m.: Jhonattan Vegas, Sungjae Im, Alex Noren
8:47 p.m.: C.T. Pan, Mackenzie Hughes, Rory Sabbatini
9:03 p.m.: Scott Vincent, Christian Bezuidenhout, Corey Conners
9:14 p.m.: Thomas Detry, Joachim B Hansen, Collin Morikawa
9:25 p.m.: Guido Migliozzi, Joaquin Niemann, Thomas Pieters
9:36 p.m.: Shane Lowry, Abraham Ancer, Cameron Smith
9:47 p.m.: Mito Pereira, Sepp Straka, Tommy Fleetwood
9:58 p.m.: Carlos Ortiz, Sebastian Munoz, Rory McIlroy
10:09 p.m.: Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Paul Casey
